Doing a Background Check

Three components constitute an interesting street portrait: (a) an intriguing subject, (b) adequate lighting, and, last but not least, (c) the right background. Background matters! One thing that wrecks a street portrait is a cluttered background which will swallow up the subject and distract the viewer’s eye. It will also make the image look flat because the camera can’t capture the depth that the two eyes can. Therefore the photographer has to create sufficient visual depth by means of composition and subject/background separation. Most times, the right background for a strong, compelling image can be produced by slightly changing your perspective or blurring out a background.

There are two different types of background for street portraits, (i) meaningful and (ii) "meaningless" backgrounds.

(i) The meaningful background:

If one wants to photograph the subject in her or his (cultural, natural or work) environment make sure the background is equally as impressive as the subject, is part of the story, and adds value to the image. This is called an environmental portrait; the aperture could be f/5.6 or even higher (up to f/11 and more, depending on circumstances). If there is sky in the image, one want's to make sure the horizon does not cut through the head of the subject. Choosing the right camera position creates sufficient visual separation between the subject and the background which is essential to draw the viewer's eye to the subject.

Examples (i) - Environmental Portraits with Meaningful Background:

(ii) The "Meaningless" Background:

If the street portrait is about an interesting subject, then one can try to fully eliminate the background, making it about the subject and her or his facial features. There are three ways to do this:

• (a) You blur the existing (cluttered) background by opening up to f/3.2 or even more (up to f/1.2 if you have a good lens) thus creating a nice, creamy bokeh.
• (b1) You direct and position your subject in front of a clean, colourful or uniform structure (e.g. a brickwall, a painted wall, a green or flowering shrub, a wooden fence, a roller shutter).
• (b2) You improvise and use any impromptu backdrop (e.g. an umbrella, a curtain, any large piece of clothing).

Examples (iia) - Blurred Background:

Examples (iib1) - Homogeneous Background:

Examples (iib2) - Impromptu Backdrops:

Background matters; an intriguing subject alone is not enough for an interesting street portrait. A piece of advice: find an interesting background and wait patiently for something to happen... Have fun!

High-res portrait photographs with full exif data, precise geotags and technical details in Matt Hahnewald's

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Finding the Right Camera Angle

The camera angle marks the specific location at which the camera is placed to take a head shot or a half-length portrait photograph. Any portrait may be shot from several camera angles (main directions: eye level, low angle, high angle) which will influence the viewer’s perception of the subject (point of view). This might lead to different interpretations, emotions, fantasies, assumptions and speculations about the subject. A neutral shot or eye-level shot minimizes the psychological effects on the viewer.

A low-angle shot is taken from below the subject (the lens is below the subject’s eyes) and has the power to make the subject look taller, stronger, more important, or more powerful, or even threatening. It makes the viewer of the portrait photograph feel the opposite (e.g. smaller, more vulnerable) and simulates the view that a child (or a pet) would have. A second, but non-psychological reason for low-angle shots is the practical inclusion of large background objects (e.g. buildings, mountains) into environmental portraits.

A high-angle shot is a shot in which the camera is physically higher than the subject (the lens is above the subject’s eyes) and is looking down upon the subject. The high angle shot can make the subject look smaller, weaker, more dependent, more humble or even more vulnerable. It makes the viewer of the portrait photograph feel the opposite (e.g. grander, more important). A second, rather common but non-psychological reason for (subtle) high-angle shots are elderly photographers with knee problems or knee pain... 

"It is a narrow mind which cannot look at a subject from various points of view."

(George Eliot: Middlemarch)

"Photography is a reality so subtle that it becomes more real than reality."

(Alfred Stieglitz)

Eye level is the most common point of view, being a real-world angle that we are all used to. It shows subjects as we would expect to see them in real life. It is a fairly neutral shot that removes any hint of editorializing and instead simply presents the subject as it is in real-life.

In most cases, getting the lens to the eye level of the subject is the key for realistic headshots and half-length portraits - especially when photographing children...

High-res portrait photographs with complete exif data, geotags and technical details in Matt Hahnewald's

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Photographing Street Photographers

Street photography is photography conducted for art that features unmediated chance encounters and random incidents within public places. "The (street) photographer is an armed version of the solitary walker reconnoitering, stalking, cruising the urban inferno, the voyeuristic stroller who discovers the city as a landscape of voluptuous extremes. Adept of the joys of watching, connoisseur of empathy, the flâneur finds the world picturesque..." (acc. to Susan Sontag). Framing and timing can be key aspects of the craft with the aim of some street photography being to create images at a decisive or poignant moment.

Street photography does focus on people and their behavior in public. This motivation entails having also to navigate or negotiate changing expectations and laws of privacy, security and property. In this respect the street photographer is similar to social documentary photographers or photojournalists who also work in public places, but with the aim of capturing newsworthy events.

There are two different types of street portraits, (i) interactive (aka "posed") street portraits, and (ii) so-called candid (aka "natural") street portraits (read more: Making Decisions in Tamil Nadu). Both types of street portraiture are interesting in my opinion and can produce awesome results. However, I prefer interactive street portraits.

Some ideas for shooting interactive street portraits:

• Find adequate background and good lighting.
• Be selective and be patient.
• Be yourself and be congruent.
• Get involved, build rapport and talk to people.
• Get consent for both (i) the image and (ii) the internet.
• Stay with the subject matter.
• Look for contrasts and contradictions.
• Take simple photographs.
• Vary views and angles.
• Get in closer.
• Make the subject feel comfortable.
• Reduce camera shake and shoot 1/250s or shorter.
• Shoot in aperture-priority mode or in manual mode.
• Use single-point auto focus and aim on the eye which is closest to you.
• Offer your email address and the URL of your website.

Anyway, street photographers who take candid photographs are fair game; candid photographs of them are the exceptions that proves my rule of taking interactive aka posed street portraits...

High-res portrait photographs with complete exif data, geotags and technical details in Matt Hahnewald's

Flickr Album 2016-03a Snapping Street Photographers

Favoring Bangkok's Chinatown

Bangkok's Chinatown is one of the largest Chinatowns in the world. It was founded in 1782 CE when the city was established as the capital of the Rattanakosin Kingdom, and served as the home of the mainly Teochew immigrant Chinese population, who soon became the city's dominant ethnic group. The core of Chinatown lies along Yaowarat Road, which serves as its main artery and sometimes lends its name to the entire area, which is often referred to as Yaowarat. Originally a wilderness area outside the city walls, Chinatown grew to become Bangkok's commercial hub throughout the late 19th to early 20th centuries, but has since declined in prominence as commercial activity moved elsewhere following the city's expansion. It now serves as a hub of Chinese culture and religion, with atmospheric temples, busy markets, historic shop houses, exotic stores selling traditional Chinese goods, and hundreds of unique Chinese eateries.

The Chinese New Year brings one of the most exhilarating celebrations to the Chinatown of Bangkok. The entire length of Yaowarat Road comes to life with crowds of worshipers, exploding firecrackers, dragon dancers, lion dancers and Thai families of Chinese descent who gather to partake in the street fanfare as well as enjoy sumptuous Chinese banquets: xīn nián kuài lè...

Happy New Year, I wish you good health and lasting prosperity.
恭贺新禧，祝身体健康、事业发达。
Gōnghè xīnxǐ, zhù shēntǐ jiànkāng, shìyè fādá.

In Thailand, as elsewhere, one can find several different gender roles, identities and diverse visual markers of masculinity and femininity. Although the terms kathoey or ladyboy are rather ambiguous, simply put, both terms refer to someone assigned male at birth, who dresses as and adopts the mannerisms and identity of a woman. Kathoeys are numerous in Thailand and are seemingly accepted by society, not only in big cities like Bangkok but in the countryside as well.

High-res portrait photographs with complete exif data, geotags and technical details in Matt Hahnewald's

Flickr Album 2018-02a Favoring Bangkok's Chinatown

Flickr Album 2015-11h Dancing with the Thai Chinese

Flickr Album 2015-10b Spotting Tilakas in Bangkok